EAST ASIA I
(chapter 9: 427-449)
EAST ASIA
MAJOR GEOGRAPHIC QUALITIES
OF EAST ASIA
WORLD’S MOST POPULOUS REALM
JAKOTA TRIANGLE (JAPAN-SOUTH KOREATAIWAN) LIES AT THE VANGUARD OF PACIFIC RIM
DEVELOPMENT
POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC FORCES CONTINUE
TO TRANSFORM TRADITIONAL CULTURAL
LANDSCAPES.
INTENSIFYING REGIONAL DISPARITIES
POPULATION CONCENTRATIONS IN THE EAST,
SITUATED IN RIVER BASINS
POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY REVEALS INSTABILITY.
REGIONS OF THE REALM
CHINA PROPER- EASTERN HALF; THE CORE
XIZANG (TIBET)- TALL MOUNTAINS AND
HIGH PLATEAUS; SPARSELY POPULATED
XINJIANG- VAST DESERT BASIN AND
MOUNTAIN RIMS; A CULTURAL CONTACT
ZONE
MONGOLIA- A DESERT, BUFFER STATE
THE JAKOTA TRIANGLE
JAPAN, SOUTH KOREA, TAIWAN
RAPID ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
E
A
S
T
A
S
I
A
PHYSIOGRAPHY
TOTAL AREA IS ABOUT 3.6 MILLION SQ MI
LONGITUDINAL EXTENT IS COMPARABLE TO
THE US; LATITUDINAL RANGE FROM
NORTHERN QUEBEC TO CENTRAL
CARIBBEAN
BORDERED (SURROUNDED) BY OCEAN, HIGH
MOUNTAINS, STEPPE COUNTRY, AND DESERT
VAST AND VARIED TOPOGRAPHY
CLIMATE TYPES INCLUDE: B (DRY); C
(HUMID TEMPERATE); D (HUMID COLD); AND
H (UNCLASSIFIED HIGHLANDS)
PHYSIOGRAPHY
CLIMATE COMPARISON
Cold
Warm
Dry
Wet
COLONIAL
SPHERES
POLITICAL DIVISIONS
CHINA’S POLITICAL MAP
4 CENTRAL-GOVERNMENT-ADMINISTERED
MUNICIPALITIES
BEIJING (CAPITAL); TIANJIN (PORT CITY); SHANGHI
(LARGEST CITY); CHONGQUING (INTERIOR RIVER
PORT)
5 AUTONOMOUS REGIONS
NEI MONGOL (INNER MONGOLIA); NINGXIA HUI;
XINJIANG UYGUR (NW); GUANGXI ZHUANG (SOUTH);
XIZANG (TIBET)
22 PROVINCES
GROW IN SIZE FROM EAST TO WEST
1 SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION
XIANGGANG (FORMERLY HONG KONG)
ETHNIC GROUPS
Other
8%
Han
92%
Han
Other
ETHNIC GROUPS
Han Chinese
Zhuang
Uygur
Hiu
Yi
Tibetan
Miao
Manchu
Mongol
Buyi
Korean
91.9%
8.1%
ETHNOLINGUISTIC AREAS
LANGUAGES
CHINESE IS ONE OF THE WORLD’S OLDEST
ACTIVE LANGUAGES.
SPOKEN CHINESE VARIES DIALECT TO
DIALECT (not mutually intelligible), ALTHOUGH
THE CHARACTERS (over 50,000) USED TO
REPRESENT THE LANGUAGE REMAIN THE
SAME.
SINCE CHINESE IS WRITTEN IN CHARACTERS
RATHER THAN BY A PHONETIC ALPHABET,
CHINESE WORDS MUST BE TRANSLITERATED
SO FOREIGNERS CAN PRONOUNCE THEM.
THE PINYIN SYSTEM
ENABLED LANGUAGE TO BE A
CENTRIPETAL FORCE
ADOPTED IN 1958
BASED ON PRONUNCIATION OF
CHINESE CHARACTERS IN
NORTHERN MANDARIN
ESTABLISHED A STANDARD FORM OF
LANGUAGE THROUGHOUT THE
COUNTRY
PINYIN
LITERALLY, “SPELL SOUNDS”
DEVELOPED IN THE PRC
THE MOST ACCEPTED SYSTEM OF ROMANIZING
CHINESE
Chinese
Translation
Bei
Nan
Xi
Dong
Jing
Shan
He
Jiang
North
South
West
East
Capital
Mountain
River (in the north)
River (in the south)
CHINESE PERSPECTIVES
ONE OF THE WORLD’S GREAT
CULTURE HEARTHS
CONTINUOUS CIVILIZATION FOR
OVER 4,000 YEARS
VIEW OF CHINA AS THE CENTER OF
THE CIVILIZED WORLD
EASTERN VS WESTERN BIAS
INWARD LOOKING
CLOSED SOCIETY
CHINA’S RELATIVE LOCATION
ISOLATION
NATURAL PROTECTIVE BARRIERS
DISTANCE
INWARD LOOKING (CENTRAL KINGDOM) WITH
MINOR INCIDENCES OF CULTURAL DIFFUSION
EFFECTS OF ONE OCEAN
• A HISTORY OF EMPERORS WHO RESTRICTED USE OF
THE COASTLINE, EXCEPT IN LOCAL
CIRCUMSTANCES
• TODAY THE OCEAN IS PLAYING A MAJOR ROLE IN
THE ECONOMIC (AND CULTURAL)
TRANSFORMATION OF COASTAL CHINA.
EXTRATERRITORIALITY
A DOCTRINE OF EUROPEAN
INTERNATIONAL LAW
EMPLOYED IN CHINA DURING THE
LATE 1800s
AFFORDED IMMUNITY FROM LOCAL
JURISDICTION
CONSTITUTED AN EROSION OF
CHINESE SOVEREIGNTY
DISTINCT ENCLAVES EVOLVED
EAST ASIA I
(chapter 9: 427-449)